Samhyeon sugan (Letters of Three Wise Men)

Samhyeon sugan (Letters of Three Wise Men) is a later compilation, in four albums, of letters exchanged mainly among Gubong Song Ik-pil (1534–1599), Ugye Seong Hon (1535–1598) and Yulgok Yi I (1536–1584). Gubong, Ugye and Yulgok were close friends and leading masters of Neo-Confucianism in the sixteenth century, and this compilation of their letters discussing and debating Neo-Confucian topics such as li and gi (principle and material force), mind and nature, the Four Beginnings and ritual theory is a valuable source both for the history of thought and for the history of scholarship. Some of these letters can be found in their respective collected works — the Gubongjip, Ugyejip and Yulgok jeonseo — but not a few are absent from those collections altogether (sixteen letters do not appear in them at all, and fifteen more appear only in part), a fact that further raises the value of this compilation. These autograph letters are important sources for the history of calligraphy simply for their handwriting; in particular, Gubong's cursive script is so orderly, without a single character out of place, that it feels like looking at a model textbook of cursive script. Yulgok's autograph writing is also extremely rare to survive, and the fact that as many as thirteen letters he sent to Gubong are included here further enhances the value of this compilation.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물